Cache is there but how to find it...any thoughts

[Mystro7]

One of my friends bought a house some years back. The couple that lived there were aged and the husband passed away suddenly and the wife has sinced passed aswell. The house was built in 1940. The son of the couple lives a few houses down and told my friend that his mother had told him that his father had hidden a bunch of silver coins they got when they were married, somewhere in the house. The guy was a bit of a handyman. The walls are LOADED with metal, as due to the war they had to use alternative supplies. It would be hard to use a detector on the walls, but wonder if he would go through that much trouble to hide it. The attic is the only metal free sanctuary in the house ,, well besides nails. Entire basement is concrete. We will be checking the attic with a detector since it is all hardwood flooring. Any tips, or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also the son who had told this little story is a very honest person, and thought he may be noted as being crazy for even mentioning it. I think this cache is VERY possible. Thanks for any input. Oh ya I told my friend that if it was my house, as soon as I heard that story I would have been ripping it appart lol.

[RJGMC]

It is possible that you have already answered your own question. The attic with hardwood floors would be my first priority. With him being a handyman of sorts, this would be ideal. The other prime spots in this description without ever seeing the house would be the landing on the stairway if there is one. The check out the steps/stairway to the attic. It was often the custom to build a closet on the backside of the stairway to use all available room. To make a step that was a small storage area or hidy hole would not have been hard to do. Also check all of the stair treads. There may be one or more that lift up and reveal the perfect hiding spot. I have actually seen this type of safekeeping spot.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Bob

[Mystro7]

YA! I never thought of the stairs! I cant believe I overlooked that. Thanks for the info. I will be heading back down there monday for work, I stay there during the week. If anything is found you all will be the first to know. Thanks again.

[Kentucky Kache]

I would agree, stairs is a good possibility. But look everywhere. Don't leave it until you've gone over every spot you can think of, and then sit down and think of any other spots.

[floodcitykid]

False walls in bedroom closets, I built one to hide my guns...and I'm not that good of a carpenter.


The Flood City Kid

[ottawadigs]

check for loose floorboards
all the electrical outlets
inside closets for hollow sounds (tap around)
crawl spaces
under staircases
window sill bases
air vents

also if there's a tool shed, search it

I know someone who's buried a couple dozen boxes of silver rounds in the middle of the barn floor

[GrayCloud]

Is there any decking in the attic area? If so, check under.

[poorhunter78]

Test your detector on copper, silver to see the different signals. My detector has different beep tones to distinguish.

[boogeyman]

Check door frames & threshholds. A threshhold can be removed and a box placed under it to hold goodies. A plastic hammer won't mark walls & doors but will give a good indication of density & possibly rattles. Bathroom & kitchen cabinet bottoms that possibly could be removed easily. Any duct work or floor vents. Tap the baseboards & look for pieces that look out of place from the rest of the room. Window sills & frames. Then the bathroom medicine cabinet & if the tub is the old cast iron with feet don't forget to look between it & the wall. Check the floors of the closets along with the trim & baseboards.

[Connecticut Danny]

Many great ideas to find this cache.

[Mystro7]

Well we spent a few days checking everything, and I mean everything. There are only 2 possible things I think that could have happened to it. There was some recent electrical work done in the house,maybe a not so honest electrician found it or...the attic where all the old pine floor boards are, half of the finished attic was sealed off recently and FILLED with blown insulation. So for now this cache of silver coins will remain hidden. I am convinced it is in the attic covered with insulation It was fun looking for though, never detected inside a house before. Thanks for the ideas, every idea that you all said was checked.

[Jeep]

You need this:

http://www.camero-tech.com/product.php?ID=40

[GrayCloud]

Are they available to the public and if so, how much.

[Frankn]

Gray Cloud, I don't think either one of us could afford it !

I have found valuables in old houses in these locations:
Old homes had hidden access panels to get to the plumbing. Usually in the bathroom cupboard below the bottom shelf. The front panel usually slides up.
The old homes had sash weights to assist in opening the windows. They were on ropes that rotted or were destroyed by rodents, so the SIDE trim panels of windows were screwed on or lightly nailed for easy removal. This was a favorite hiding place.

Some houses had drop sealings added to conserve heat. There was usually space above the visible ceiling accessable by an opening in a cupboard above the door. That's where my dad hid his stuff. Frank

[Jeep]

Are they available to the public and if so, how much.

Stripped down version, $25k

Full version, 100+K

http://www.camero-tech.com/pdf/whatsnext_200106.pdf

Need a government pocketbook for these

[Chug And Red]

I think that I would, Be a little creative With A stud finder and A good Pinpointer!!! Then a Hammer as long as You don't cause to much damage!!! Locate the Studs Study the Lay out of the Electrical and Plumbing Then Go to town!!! But that's Just Me

PS look for Old repairs On the Walls with experience You can Tell a Repair from original walls Bright Lights Help by causing Slight Shadows Were the Wall Dont quite match Up

[Jeep]

I think that I would, Be a little creative With A stud finder and A good Pinpointer!!! Then a Hammer as long as You don't cause to much damage!!! Locate the Studs Study the Lay out of the Electrical and Plumbing Then Go to town!!! But that's Just Me

PS look for Old repairs On the Walls with experience You can Tell a Repair from original walls Bright Lights Help by causing Slight Shadows Were the Wall Dont quite match Up

How right you are Chug

Having been in the trade, there are always voids in walls (chases for plumbing, ductwork, etc) that may or
may not be current. A light shined at the right angle can show any repair to walls.
Also a tape measure and a sketch of measurements will tell you if someone is hiding something.
When you suspect a wall, a trip up the the attic with a spade bit and a Hi intensity flash will let you
look down into the wall.
Don't forget to look for dummy electrical gang boxes or heating/ac ducts, their one of my personal favorites

[smcdmc]

Well we spent a few days checking everything, and I mean everything. There are only 2 possible things I think that could have happened to it. There was some recent electrical work done in the house,maybe a not so honest electrician found it or...the attic where all the old pine floor boards are, half of the finished attic was sealed off recently and FILLED with blown insulation. So for now this cache of silver coins will remain hidden. I am convinced it is in the attic covered with insulation It was fun looking for though, never detected inside a house before. Thanks for the ideas, every idea that you all said was checked.

If so, why not try detecting the ceiling of the room below where the insulation is? A silver cache of any size should give off a pretty serious signal and if located then would be worth crawling through a little insulation.

[diggemall]

Kids bought a house built in the 40's and occupied by the original owners until they had to sell a few years ago. We were looking the place over after they bought it and down in the basement, there was a hunk of pegboard on the wall behind the old guys workbench. Happened to notice that one side of it was held in place with a pair of hinges................ After removing the two screws that held the other side, it swung open to reveal where the previous owners had removed several concrete blocks from the wall and dug out a nice sized hidey hole under the concrete floor of the attached garage that was on the other side of the wall.............(empty, of course)

Ya just never know.................

Diggem'

[boogeyman]

Kids bought a house built in the 40's and occupied by the original owners until they had to sell a few years ago. We were looking the place over after they bought it and down in the basement, there was a hunk of pegboard on the wall behind the old guys workbench. Happened to notice that one side of it was held in place with a pair of hinges................ After removing the two screws that held the other side, it swung open to reveal where the previous owners had removed several concrete blocks from the wall and dug out a nice sized hidey hole under the concrete floor of the attached garage that was on the other side of the wall.............(empty, of course)

Ya just never know.................

Diggem'

Darned good idea for a stash box. Thought you were gonna tell us it opened up & on the back was all the good collectible tools. Hmm.... If there's one 60% chance there's another.